Midnight Posies – Block 10

The Teal Tulip is block number 10 in the Midnight Posies Quilt. It was time to add a new color to the quilt just to keep thing lively. A bright teal or aqua really adds some zing. As we begin row 4 the block become a bit more challenging, but the directions will get you through them with ease.

Download pdf file here.

I know I love having my patterns in color and I think it really makes it easier to see them and understand the various units of these more complex blocks. I hope you enjoy them too. My publisher told me that this pattern would be too expensive to print in full color, so you really are getting a treat if you are printing out these patterns. At the end of the year when I publish this pattern, there will not be near as much color!

When you make this block – all squares and half square triangles – be sure to keep your color straight! And if you would prefer to use a different color scheme in this block. . how about pink or salmon or peach?

In the center of this block where 8 seams come together, press the seam open. Use steam and get it real flat. It was lay nicely if you distribute the bulk of the center seam in both directions.

I would love to see pictures of your blocks. Everyone who sends me a picture of their block or blocks from this series will receive a chance to win a free pattern!!! Send your pics to reezehanson [at] hotmail.com. I will select the winning submission at random on November 15 and post all the submissions. I can’t wait! Thanks!!!

Fall Retreat – Winslow, Arkansas

How I love to go to retreat. I seem to get more work done there than at home. Ok, so its not really work. . . its fun to finish projects, start new ones and pal around with my quilting buddies. It gets my creative juices flowing. Here are a few of the projects I did at retreat.

1. This round robin is a project i procrastinated on and finally finished. Someone else was supposed to complete this border and didn’t have time, so I took over the task. I had the whole thing together, and realized it didn’t fit perfectly, so I took it all out, remade it, and just as I was to put it back together I got distracted and never touched it again for a year! (really red face for being so bad!) At least this time the outer border fits and I gave her enough of the purple fabric to do the binding.
2. In addition to finishing my Sweet Pea table runner, I started on my March Daffodil table runner. It really is going to be bright and cheerful. Here is sneak peak of some of the blocks. These daffodil blocks dance down the middle of the quilt. Don’t you love the rick rack for the trumpet ruffles? hehe
3. Then I had fun playing with the Easy Striped Table Runner pattern by Karen Montgomery (see Timeless Treasures website for the pattern). Wow, do these ever make up quick. Here are a few of the tops I whipped up with this pattern:

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I also purchased an incredible basket from the art co-op across the street from the place where we stay. And the view from the windows of our retreat is spectacular. My pictures are through a screen but you can still see the incredible Arkansas Boston Mountains.Now that I am back to Kansas, and the cold, wind, and rain. . . I so wish I was back in the sunshine and warm weather of Arkansas. So, what have you been up to?

New Pattern!! April Sweat Pea Table Runner

Finally, I have finished the sample for my next Charming Botanical quilt: April Sweet Peas!

I have had the design complete and the fabric picked out for some time. I even had the runner background done last Spring (at a retreat). Well it seams the only time I get things done anymore is at retreats, and last week I completed the quilt at my Fall retreat. At last. I am working on writing up the pattern now and should have it out to my publisher and distributor as soon as my pattern tester is done with it.This quilt was so fun to make! I just love the 1930’s reproductions, and if you have a stash of 30’s scraps you could make this quilt from stash! Of course there are so many adorable new 30’s prints out this season that you could have fun shopping for this one also. Since you need very small quantities of LOTS of different fabrics, you might want to look for charm packs or trade charms or scraps with friends or small group members to get all the different colors you need.

• There are 95 different fabrics in the center.
• There are 24 flowers, each consisting of 2 or 3 different shades of one color in each flower. I repeated some of the fabrics from the center in the flowers, but tried not to repeat any colors from flower to flower.
• There are 32 small leaves made from 3 different fabrics
• There is 130” of bias vine, which is the same fabric as the inner border and the binding.
• There is 120” of pink piping, and 84” of white/pink print piping.

I stitched in the ditch in the center of the quilt, then micro-stippled on one side of the vine and cross-hatched on the other side of the vine in the border – just for fun!

I just love the little piping in the borders and around the binding. I think it adds a sweet framing element that keeps all the chaos of fabrics contained! hehe

The pattern will be available on my Etsy site and my web site in the next week or two.

If anyone is interested in being a pattern tester for this patter, I could use one more person (with experience as a pattern tester) to make the pattern and provide feedback on the instructions before I release the pattern. Let me know if you are interested at reezehanson (at) hotmail.com. Thanks!!!

Finished Nina’s BOB

Tonight I finished the blanket stitching around the border of Nina’s BOB – that is “Bag O Blocks.” I came up with the idea of swapping BOBs a few years ago after many of the people in my swapping group had an excess of blocks accumulating in bags and tubs and not much time or incentive to get them made into tops. Ok. . . I was one of those procrastinators. I had more that 50+ bags of blocks in my sewing room and wanted to get tops made. So the idea came to me in a flash. Swap bags of blocks with someone else and get a top back out of blocks that you didn’t know what to do with. I will stop short of calling it genius, he-he, but it was a darn good idea. And since that time my group has done many of these exchanges.

• Return of BOB -- ROB
• Son of BOB -- SOB
• Bride of BOB -- BBOB
• Mother of BOB -- MOB
• BOB, Carol, Ted and Alice
• Return of the Son of BOB

well you get the idea. So the most recent BOB we hosted was this summer. I took my time finishing this BOB since I knew I would be hand delivering it to my friend in October at a retreat we both attend. Ok, so I drug my feet a bit. . .ok, a lot. But its done.

She sent me a stack of red pinwheel blocks. I set them on point, added an applique center block, some blue and white paper pieced setting triangles, and a vine and leaf appliqué border.

This shows the blocks up on my design wall with the center block in place and the first of the setting triangles. I wanted to change the tone of the quilt from being all red and white, to being red white and blue whimsical.

Here is a picture of the finished top once I got all the setting triangles made and inserted and the borders put on and stitched down.

Do you think it needs another border or is it done? Well it is going home to its Mama next weeks so I still have time to take it apart and redo it if you think it looks bad!! LOL

PS. Nina loved her BOB!!!! Yippeee

Roses in Moonlight

roses in moonlight
Originally uploaded by Morning Glory Designs

I have posted more free vintage embroidery patterns on my Flickr site. I hope you enjoy these. I would love to see projects made from this wonderful old vintage patterns.

Thanks for stopping by, Reeze